Clay target state title in town

• Lachie and Harrison Simpson at a recent Dorset Field and
Game event.

By Daisy Baker
August 31, 2022

Dorset Field and Game is gearing up to host a two-day state title next month, which will attract competitors from around the state.

It has been five years since Dorset last held a simulated field clay target championship.

Keen shooters from as young as 14 through to 80 years old will come from around the North-East, Flinders Island, Huon Valley, Penguin, Sassafras, Northern Midlands and potentially the mainland.

Dorset Field and Game president Todd Wilkin said they are excited to hold the title and hope to see around 80-100 competitors at the event.

The championship will commence at 9.30 on Saturday September 17 with 100 targets across four rounds.

The championships will continue the following day with another 50 targets.

Squads of six will rotate between stands over the club’s two ranges, walking around 2.5km over the course of the day.

“People will go out and shoot targets in the stand which are being thrown out of traps hidden all over the place,” Mr Wilkin said.

“Once stand one is shot, they move on to the next one.”

He said the clay targets are released in a way that simulates ducks flying or rabbits moving across the ground. 

The sport originated as a way for hunters to practise in the
off season.

There will also be a five-stand novelty event over the course of the weekend, with five stands next to each other where entrants can shoot a series of different targets through a 25-shot range.

Mr Wilkin said the outright title will be hotly contested.

“Paul Rigby will be a real contender and Nick Brown who just won the sporting clays state title would be a contender for outright, he’s shooting really well at the moment,” he said.

“Adam Harper also recently broke the club record at Fossil Bank and shot a 98/100. If he’s there it will be a good competition between those three.

“Ex-president Shane Summers will be up there with them in
the outright.”

The club’s new patron, MLC Tania Rattray will present the awards at the conclusion of the competition, with prizes for place winners in AA, A, B and C grade, juniors, ladies and visitors categories.

Mr Wilkin said he hopes as shooting becomes more widely recognised as a sport, the public perception of guns will also be shifted.

“What we do with the guns is very different to the reputation they have,” he said.

“The thing I would stress is the safety of the sport. It’s great fun, it’s family orientated and 100 per cent safe.”

Competitors can register on the day or via the Dorset Field and Game Australia Facebook page.